1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of a modified golf cup. More specifically, the present invention relates to a golf cup modified to provide a power source to automatically elevate a golf cup upon impact of a golf ball landing into the cup.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf cups are well known and have had various construction while maintaining a basic form in order to meet standard rules within golfing associations. In the past, golf cups have been primarily used to hold golf balls, which pass into them at the completion of a successful putt or stroke, and to support the flag which marks the hole. These cups are inserted into a round cylindrical opening in the green and are recessed below the level of the green according to the Professional Golf Association's guidelines and contain holes in the bottom of the cup to facilitate drainage of water. Prior modifications to golf cups have generally served the purposes of diminishing the size of the available opening to serve as a training aid for putting. Other modifications have improved the ability of the cup to support and hold the flag without tilting.
Yet other modifications have been made to link advertisements to golf equipment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,417 to Boudreau disclosed a doughnut-shaped insert that contains an advertisement which fit or snap into any conventional golf cup. This invention did not modify the golf cup but attaches the doughnut-shaped insert by means of prongs into the existing drainage holes of the conventional golf cup or places the insert (without prongs) directly onto the portion of the cup which contains the drainage holes and forces the drainage water to pass through the slight opening at the perimeter of the insert. This invention relies on the placement of a rigid insert into a conventional golf cup and sacrifices the drainage openings to provide a means to hold or support the insert.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,501 to Sandberg discloses a golf cup adapted to be concealed when not in use. An inner receptacle, sized to snugly fit within the golf cup, is filled with growing lawn grass so that the golf cup is substantially concealed when the inner receptacle is inserted into the cup.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,023 to Gelina provides a golf cup insert which can be easily frictionally engaged to provide for variation in the effective size of the golf cup. This invention is an aid for increasing a golfer's skill in putting by varying the size of the receptacle to sizes smaller than normal thereby increasing the putting accuracy which must be developed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,394 to Kretz also discloses a putting skill improvement device having a simulated putting green grass surface and a special lip design to insure the cup opening is level with the putting surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,950 discloses a substantially non-metallic golf cup which provides a metallic sound indicating that a golf ball has dropped into the cup. A non-metallic carriage having a metallic portion is suspended above a metallic plate. A golf ball dropping into the cup forces the carriage to be displaced causing the carriage metallic portion to make contact with the metallic plate thus producing the metallic sound. A transparent cover on the carriage is hermetically sealed to protect advertising material contained within the cover for viewing when approaching the golf cup.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,603 discloses a ball-ejecting golf cup in which a golf ball comes to rest; on a vertical plunger disposed within the cup to traverse a sealed chamber, the plunger being spring biased in an upward direction. The ball and plunger are depressible by the golfer with any suitable tool, such as the handle of the putter. Also included was a device for retaining the plunger depressed for a short time, allowing the putter to be removed, and then to release the plunger to snap upwardly to eject the ball upwardly to a height convenient for the golfer to catch it. Finally, a mechanism was provided for adjusting both the time delay before the ball is ejected and also the height to which the ball is ejected.
The prior art is deficient in the lack of effective means of facilitating the game of golf by providing a modified golf cup which simplifies the retrieval of a golf ball from the golf cup. The present invention fulfills this longstanding need and desire in the art.